49: Proton (XI)

The chaos within the Xuan Yuan Dynasty burned faster and more fiercely than Chi Yun had anticipated.

Through the Silver Gate's communication stones, he could clearly sense this invisible web tightening.

But as actions became more frequent, codenames continued to fall into eternal silence during communications.

Those once-fanatical "Pioneers" were being rooted out and executed one by one by the Imperial Dynasty.

Chi Yun realized that the Silver Gate's prestige was also about to fail him.

Currently, the situation in the Xuan Yuan Dynasty was a complete mess, making it the perfect time for him to find an opportunity to "withdraw."

One night, he partnered with Yan again to head to a core Spiritual Vein in the heart of the Imperial Dynasty to execute a critical "frenzy source" deployment mission.

"Yun, tell me, when the entire Imperial Dynasty trembles under Lord Alchemist's creations, what a magnificent sight that will be!" Yan whispered excitedly while setting up the vessels.

Chi Yun did not answer; he had already intentionally leaked the location of this mission to the Xuanjin Guard.

His perception, isolated by the mask, had already spread to its limit.

Three elite squads of the Xuanjin Guard, in a triangular formation, had already silently surrounded the valley.

Leading them was a powerful expert at the Peak of the Spirit King Realm.

"It's an ambush," Chi Yun's voice remained hoarse, devoid of any emotion.

"What?" Yan's movements stiffened.

In the next second, dozens of sharp attacks poured down from all directions.

"Yun, protect the 'frenzy source'!" Yan let out a roar. Instead of choosing to retreat, he charged toward the Xuanjin Guard and the others.

The moment the ambush began, Chi Yun moved.

However, he didn't intend to protect the "frenzy source." Instead, he immediately utilized a tiny blind spot in the ambush circle to flee at high speed in the opposite direction.

"Yun, how dare you!"

Yan's roar came from behind, but Chi Yun ignored it completely.

Dozens of miles away, a Xuanjin Guard squad happened to be fighting a tide of Yao Beasts.

Chi Yun silently slipped into the edge of the battlefield.

He took an identity token belonging to "Chi Yun" and pressed it firmly onto a corpse that had been torn apart by Yao Beasts and was beyond recognition.

Having done all this, he put on the "Yun" mask again and completely vanished into the night.

A few days later, a brief report was sent back to the Xuanjin Guard station in Qingyun City.

Xuanjin Guard member Chi Yun had encountered a beast tide suppression mission and unfortunately perished, leaving no remains.

"Brother Chi Yun..."

Wu Gang clutched the cold report, his eyes bloodshot, and smashed the stone table beside him to pieces with a single punch... Three months later.

Xuan Yuan Dynasty, Northern Border.

On the wilderness of the Northern Border, sand and wind filled the sky, and withered grass covered the fields.

Chi Yun wore the "Yun" mask, his figure moving like the wind as he traveled through the night.

He had already finished dealing with the aftermath of "Chi Yun's" life; now, only the identity of "Yun" remained.

He wanted to find a suitable opportunity to make this identity disappear completely as well.

Fluctuations of spiritual power and the wild roars of Yao Beasts came from ahead.

He looked up.

It was a beast tide of significant scale, besieging a squad of Xuanjin Guards.

He was about to take a detour when he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the chaotic crowd.

Her white martial attire was stained with blood, and her long sword was wavering. It was Yun Xi.

"How could it be her?"

"Troublesome," Chi Yun cursed under his breath.

His masked face showed no expression, but his deep eyes had already locked onto the target.

Yun Xi's breathing was ragged; with every breath, she could taste the blood in her mouth.

The long sword in her hand already had several notches chipped out of it.

Behind her were seven or eight other Xuanjin Guard members, equally covered in wounds.

Surrounding them were countless frenzied Yao Beasts with blood-red eyes.

After the Grand Exam, she hadn't chosen to continue her studies by entering the Inner Academy Hall.

On one hand, it was to stay away from the suffocating Family fate in Xuan Yuan City.

On the other hand, perhaps even she hadn't realized that she wanted to pursue a certain figure.

She had heard that Chi Yun became a Xuanjin Guard after leaving the academy, so she also chose to become one after she left.

But not long ago, she heard some news.

Chi Yun was dead.

After her brief period of grief and despair came an even firmer determination.

She still had to live and fight her fate to the very end.

As long as she completed this mission, she would have the chance to gain the favor of some influential figures and thus break free from the shackles of her Family... *Splat!*

Yun Xi was swatted away by the claw of a frenzied giant bear at the Spirit King Realm, blood staining her white martial attire.

She struggled to stand, but her body no longer obeyed her.

The giant bear's bloody maw, carrying a heavy stench, rapidly enlarged before her eyes.

Is it over?

She closed her eyes unwillingly.

However, the expected pain did not come.

A figure had appeared in front of her at some point.

It was a man wearing a silver mask.

He just stood there quietly, facing the Spirit King Realm giant bear, and extended a single finger.

A strand of Sword Qi, refined to the extreme, shot out from his fingertip.

*Puchi.*

The giant bear's massive body froze; a tiny bloodline extended from the center of its forehead all the way to the back of its head.

The next moment, the giant bear's massive head split cleanly in two.

"Who is it..."

Looking at this back, Yun Xi felt dazed, finding it familiar.

The silhouette of Chi Yun from the past seemed to overlap with this person.

The man did not stop; his figure continued to weave through the beast tide.

In just a few minutes, the beast tide that was enough to swallow everything had become sparse.

The remaining Yao Beasts let out wails and fled in panic.

The crisis was resolved.

The surviving Xuanjin Guard members looked at the man with fearful eyes.

"It's Yun... someone from the Silver Gate!"

"Quick! Send the signal for the Chief Guard to come! Surround and kill him!"

The masked Chi Yun ignored the noise.

He slowly turned around and looked at Yun Xi, who was lying on the ground, staring at him blankly.

Their eyes met.

Despite the mask, that familiar build...

Yun Xi's heart began to beat violently.

Chi Yun's gaze lingered on her for a moment, but he didn't speak.

Sensing a powerful expert approaching at high speed from afar.

He took a step forward, and his figure disappeared at the end of the wilderness.

"Stop!"

Yun Xi shouted with all her strength.

She wanted to confirm; she wanted to ask.

Chi Yun's figure did not pause in the slightest.

"Yun... is it you? Chi Yun?"

Watching the figure recede, a glimmer of hope remained in Yun Xi's heart.

Even though this person's strength was outstanding even among those in the Spirit King Realm, far surpassing Chi Yun's.

Chi Yun's silhouette completely merged into the night.

He wanted the identity of "Yun" to also "die" completely here.

Just as the Xuanjin Guard reinforcements arrived and tracked the direction in which he had disappeared.

*Boom!*

A massive explosion accompanied by dazzling spiritual light soared into the sky.

The intense explosion leveled a small hillside, and even the arriving Xuanjin Guard members felt the impact.

That area was completely enveloped by turbulent spiritual energy, as if even the air had been burned away.

The arriving Xuanjin Chief Guard's face turned ashen; he could sense the power of the explosion, and even he wouldn't have been able to survive it.

This meant that the Silver Gate member codenamed "Yun" had been reduced to nothing in this self-detonation.

"Send word back: the Silver Gate member codenamed 'Yun' has been eliminated!"

...Far away, in an unvisited valley.

Chi Yun took off the silver mask from his face.

The exposure of "Jun" had brought the internal suspicion and purging within the Xuan Yuan Dynasty to a Peak. The Silver Gate had also suffered heavy losses and was too busy to look after itself.

No one would remember a dead hostage named "Chi Yun."

And no one would ever investigate a low-level Silver Gate member named "Yun" who had "died" in an explosion.

He looked at the turbulent Imperial Dynasty in the distance, a sense of relief appearing on his face.

From today on, he was free.

He sat cross-legged deep in the valley and began to contemplate his next plan.

He decided to head north and find a place to rest for a while.

One month later... Chi Yun was walking aimlessly through a continuous mountain range.

"A Breakthrough to the third level of the Spirit King Realm is imminent; I must find a place for secluded cultivation immediately."

Suddenly.

An imperceptible vibration came from the ground beneath his feet.

Chi Yun stopped, looked down, and stared at his feet.

A faint, ghostly blue light peeked through the cracks in the ground, flickering in and out of sight.

Driven by curiosity, he reached out and gently touched the ghostly blue light.

*Buzz!*

A powerful suction force suddenly surged; before he could even resist, his entire being was instantly swallowed by the ghostly blue light, and he vanished from the spot.